Council swap feeling a little suspicious

[Socialhse]

I'm probably over thinking but I feel a bit suspicious.

Council exchange/swap

Property 1:

Old build 1930s . 3rd floor no lift . No garden. Good storage. Bedroom one is very big. 2nd bedroom is a single room with build in cupboard. Can fit basic furniture. Large living room . Small basic kitchen. Separate toilet and bathroom. Small brick balcony.

Property 2:

New build . Ground floor. Gated communal garden. Bedroom 1 king-size. Bedroom 2 small double. Big fitted kitchen. Large balcony. Good storage. Wet room.

Why would Property 1 want to swap with property 2? The properties are about 15 mins from each other.

People keep saying they would prefer a top floor but this one has no lift? Are people really saying they would prefer that? Having no life is a right pain I lived in a 3rd floor with no lift and it was horrible

I swapped a one bed second floor flat for a three bed house 5 mins each other.
OP wanted to be higher up as was suffering anxiety.
Reference your post new build rents tend to be a lot higher that older social housing properties so that could be a factor.

Living on the ground floor can be really noisy people often walk in or by and carry on chatting, the door closer can be a bit tight and slams. When I lived on the ground floor I felt like I had no privacy as we had big windows and people just stared in.

I think it maybe depends on your lifestyle/ fitness. When I lived in Edinburgh I lived in a series of flats none had lifts. It seemed really normal and never bothered me. That said I lived alone/ with a flat mate so was only carrying up shopping for one etc.

Completely different if you’re wrangling a toddler/ baby/ pram/ family shop or have health issues

Rents in new builds can sometimes be double the amount of a similar council flat

where I live generally council are around 90 -115 a week for a 2 - 3 bed house

a HA flat / House 2 -3 bed is around 90 -125

a new build flat / House with a HA is around 145 -200
a week

Drawbacks of a ground floor flat:

Fear of burglary: easy access to windows on the ground floor. Wouldn't want bedroom on ground floor. Reluctant to leave windows open in hot weather, particularly overnight.

Lack of privacy of balcony/outdoor space, especially if faces onto pavement.

As others have said, might be close to the main door and hall.

Tell your daughter to join the local next door app for that area and FB 😂

Google the flat addrsss / street name
if anyone in that streets been done for ASB crime it’s normally reported on in the local paper

if two tenants are looking for a swap out of that block, I’d be suspicious that there’s a neighbour/noise/ antisocial issue

I’d wonder if there were antisocial behaviour issues or fear of crime with the ground floor flat location as well as neighbour or noise issues . Your DD needs to go there various times of day and night and see what’s going on

Some people don’t like a wet room and much prefer a full bathroom.
Also, some people don’t like being on the ground floor because more chances of passers by looking through window being nosy, break ins, traffic noise etc

With you saying flat 1 also wanting a move, I'd want to know who lives in flat 2.
I think a lot of people don't report nuisance neighbours anymore because liitle action is taken, it causes even more trouble and because (in this case if they moved after buying the property under RTB) they have to report it if the sell or will find it near impossible to get an exchange.
Can she ask flat 1 if there's a problem? (If she makes it clear she can't move into her flat she might be more honest). Do they have any 'friends' in common on social media?

I wouldn't take property 1 , I would only take property 2 property one sounds like my nightmare

Could there be a no pets rule on property 2 and they want to get a pet??

Id assume the person living at property 2 has had issues with neighbours or perhaps they’ve had issues with it being ground floor such as people looking in or something. Property 2 sounds much nicer.

Well there you are then - this could be it. The swapper has anxiety, and may be scared of living at ground floor level. They might feel a lot safer if they are on the 3rd floor.

I’d put money on this.

My son has ground floor and he just simply dislikes being on the ground floor and is swapping to higher up for more privacy. I like his ground floor flat and I'm very fussy.

I'd swap simply because of ground floor.

This!!! Hit the local pages, I often find posts begging for swaps, and let the investigation begin!

Location maybe, or issues with neighbours.

I'm a HA tenant in a new build and I'd swap to an older, smaller property if it was in the location I wanted to be in.

Yes ground floor could be a factor too. I'd rather live on a high floor than on the ground floor.

Bad neighbours a strong possibility. Also 15 mins away can be the other end of the earth quality of area wise, there are areas within 15 mins drive of me you couldn't pay me to move to. Also ground floor is more of a security risk. Could be poorly built new build too, possibly cladding issues, poor noise insulation.

Maybe the 3rd floor flat is lot cheaper for rent than the ground floor. They could afford it easier and have no disabilities maybe.

This.

A 3rd floor flat with no lift is out of the question if you have dodgy knees, arthritis, back problems, mobility issues, or. even 2 kids in a pushchair. etc. etc. etc.

It's not out of the question with a pushchair, I live in a 3rd floor with no lift and have done since DS was a baby. It's a pain but not impossible at all.